Warren Presses Trump Pentagon Nominee to Explain Record of “Cronyism and Backroom Dealing” at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
If confirmed, Dr. Robert Kadlec would lead the office responsible for biological defense programs, despite steering vaccine manufacturing contracts to his former client
“Your willingness to let personal and political biases improperly color your policy recommendations is part of an ongoing string of failures during your previous federal service.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Dr. Robert Kadlec, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs at the Department of Defense (DoD) with concerns over his past management failures and conflicts of interest during his time at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he served as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Those allegations include exercising improper political pressure on career officials to financially benefit his former clients.
“[Your] record…reveals that you lack the skills, character, and judgment necessary to serve effectively in a critical national security position,” said Senator Warren.
If confirmed, Dr. Kadlec would be responsible for developing policy, advising on emerging threats, staffing the Nuclear Weapons Council, and managing the U.S. nuclear arsenal and other weapons of mass destruction. Independent investigations, including three audits or investigations by GAO and the HHS Inspector General, raised serious concerns about wrongdoing at ASPR.
During his time as ASPR from 2017 to 2021, multiple reports and investigations revealed a pattern of decision-making that either benefitted his former clients or policy decisions that left the country unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes a 2017 $2.8 billion smallpox vaccine deal with Emergent BioSolutions that left HHS paying “more than double the price per dose” the Department previously had. Dr. Kadlec’s office also awarded Emergent a $261 million deal for anthrax vaccines in 2019.
Dr. Kadlec failed to disclose, to both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Office of Government Ethics, that he had ties to Emergent’s founder, including receiving $360,000 for biodefense consulting work.
Despite multiple findings of “serious quality control issues” at Emergent’s facilities, Dr. Kadlec pushed for Emergent to receive a “priority rating.” HHS went on to award Emergent a $628 million contract in May 2020 to expand its manufacturing capabilities and another $30 million contract in July 2020, “to reserve two additional manufacturing suites.” An Emergent factory later “ruined millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.”
“I also have significant concerns over your interference in HHS's evidence-based decision-making, which eroded the integrity of scientifically backed policy,” wrote Senator Warren.
During Dr. Kadlec’s tenure, HHS distributed donated hydroxychloroquine to retail pharmacies to treat COVID-19, despite very weak data on the safety and efficacy of its use. The HHS Inspector General found that these distributions “posed a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety,” given the FDA’s assessment that its use was risky due to the “known and potential health risks of hydroxychloroquine.”
“This example of scientific misconduct put millions of lives at risk and is particularly concerning given the need for evidence-based decision-making within our national nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons infrastructure,” said Senator Warren.
Another audit released in 2022 by the Government Accountability Office of Dr. Kadlec’s office later found there were no proper procedures in place “that define political interference in scientific decision-making or describe how it should be reported and addressed.”
“Together, this series of reports and allegations raises serious concerns about your ability to manage a public health or national security crisis and act impartially when making policy or acquisition determinations,” concluded Senator Warren.
Senator Warren asked Dr. Kadlec to explain, by November 10, 2025, his failure to disclose conflicts of interest during his tenure at HHS, clarify his role in the 2017 Emergent contract, and lay out his plan to prevent a similar culture of “cronyism and backroom dealing” if confirmed to a role at the Defense Department. Dr. Kadlec’s nomination will be considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
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